It seems the UFC wants to see former middleweight champion Anderson Silva have more fights than originally intended.
The 39-year-old fighter agreed on a new contract with UFC President Dana White and sports promoter Lorenzo Fertitta after meeting for dinner last Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, according to MMA Fighting. The new deal will have Silva compete in 15 more fights instead of eight.
"I had seven fights on my contract (after the Diaz fight). I met Lorenzo and Dana on Thursday and that contract was canceled. We signed for another 15 fights," Silva said. "To make Dana crazy, I signed for 15 more fights. And to make my family crazy, too."
The Brazilian MMA star is also changing his sponsorship contract, leaving Nike to negotiate a deal with Adidas, Yahoo! Sports reported.
"I was always a Nike fan, I like the brand. The company gave me an opportunity to fulfill a dream," Silva said. "Thanks to [soccer star] Ronaldo and [soccer team] Corinthians, I was able to work with Nike ... It was great, I liked it a lot. I'll miss them, always remember it."
"The Spider" added that he currently has a good relationship with Adidas, and that while nothing has been made official yet, "we'll see what happens in the future."
Silva's next fight will put him against fellow middleweight Nick Diaz, MMA Fighting reported. The bout is scheduled to take place on Jan. 31st in Las Vegas, Nev.
